Reviewing Two Decades of IL/IR Scholarship: What We've Learned, What's Next

Abstract:     
This concluding chapter to Interdisciplinary Perspectives on International Law and International Relations: The State of the Art (Cambridge University Press, forthcoming) provides an overview of what IL/IR scholarship has revealed about the making, interpretation, and enforcement of international law. In each area, we outline the distinctive theoretical, conceptual and empirical contributions that IL/IR has made as well as its lacaune and blindspots. We then turn to theory, and discuss the contributions that each of the classic IR theories has made to IL/IR scholarship, as well as the strengths and limitations of the recent turn to pragmatic, eclectic theoretical approaches found in problem-driven empirical research. Finally, we suggest ways to rebalance the asymmetrical terms of trade in theory between international law and international relations, and briefly outline a future research agenda for IL/IR scholarship.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 58

Keywords: international law, international relations, interdisciplinary, international legal theory, legalization, regime design, institutionalism, constructivism

JEL Classification: K33

Accepted Paper Series